The Center for contemplative practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Category: science and religion
THE MARTYRDOM OF THE ORDINARY
Nota Bene: This blog is lengthy. As the Feast of the Nativity fast approaches, the thought comes to mind in Advent about how each one of us should be grateful for the fact that God became one of us because of love and to… Continue Reading “THE MARTYRDOM OF THE ORDINARY”
THE TABLE OF THE LORD
Being a Lay Cistercian is one of not only discovering what it means to be Cistercian and a Layperson, but also how that openness to the heart of Christ transforms me into something I was not before. If I am a Table of the… Continue Reading “THE TABLE OF THE LORD”
UP, READY TO FIRE!
Yesterday was Veterans’ Day. I attended the Eucharist to pray for all those I know and don’t know and their families. That brought back some memories. In 1979, I was awarded The Chaplain of the Year by the Reserve Officers’ Association. I had to… Continue Reading “UP, READY TO FIRE!”
THE CHRIST PRINCIPLE: The Center
In its purest form, Lectio is a movement from just repeating one phrase in Holy Scriptures repeatedly before moving to the next sentence. Lectio has never been an end in itself, although beginners will try to move through each of the four steps of… Continue Reading “THE CHRIST PRINCIPLE: The Center”
PROFOUND LISTENING: Conditions for listening to the Holy Spirit.
Several years ago, I tried to bake one batch of biscuits to fix biscuits and gravy for my anniversary. “Tried” is the operable word here because I found out baking is not a skill that I have yet acquired, much less mastered. If I… Continue Reading “PROFOUND LISTENING: Conditions for listening to the Holy Spirit.”
TEN SURE WAYS TO LOSE YOUR FAITH
“Faith,” as a topic has always been a terrible teaser to me. Faith is the substance of what I believe, and yet, it is a Mystery of Faith; one has eluded me at the same time I find myself moving towards some semblance of… Continue Reading “TEN SURE WAYS TO LOSE YOUR FAITH”
THOUGHTS WHILE FREEZING ON AN ICEBERG
Lectio Divina has taken me to many alarming places, not the least of which has just been an iceberg. It happened this morning at 2:01 a.m. In this mini-Lectio adventure, the Holy Spirit invited me to sit on an iceberg and then just left… Continue Reading “THOUGHTS WHILE FREEZING ON AN ICEBERG”
FIFTEEN WAYS THE DEVIL CAN SEDUCE YOU AND YOU WON’T EVEN SEE IT COMING
If you hold that we are in a spiritual battle with the forces of Evil played out on the playground of the seventy or eighty years we each live, then it is good to know your enemy. With Baptism, we have the energy (from… Continue Reading “FIFTEEN WAYS THE DEVIL CAN SEDUCE YOU AND YOU WON’T EVEN SEE IT COMING”
SYNCHRONICITY WITH GOD
As the accumulated experiences bombard my heart with knowledge, love, and service (energy), more and more, I find topics pop out from my Lectio Divina encounter with the Holy Spirit, ones that were latent and dormant in the synaptic recesses of my brain. Synchronicity… Continue Reading “SYNCHRONICITY WITH GOD”
AUTHORS OF GREAT WISDOM
One of the great delights of my later years has to do with writing down what the Holy Spirit tells me. Again, I don’t speak for the Holy Spirit, but hopefully, the Holy Spirit speaks to me if I am humble enough. So far,… Continue Reading “AUTHORS OF GREAT WISDOM”
PILGRIMAGE TO THE HEART OF CHRIST
We all have taken a trip somewhere, even if it is just to go to Trader Joe’s and buy some delicious root beer drink. Not all trips or vacations are pilgrimages. Muslims celebrate their faith in pilgrimage by visiting Mecca. Catholics pilgrimage to the… Continue Reading “PILGRIMAGE TO THE HEART OF CHRIST”
WHAT IS HELL LIKE, RIGHT NOW?
Hell is not the opposite of Heaven, but rather the absence of it. If that is so, and the kingdom of heaven is right now for us to absorb into our human nature, then would it not be true that hell is also right… Continue Reading “WHAT IS HELL LIKE, RIGHT NOW?”
the assumption of mary
Normally, I would give you some thoughts about a subject from my Lectio Divina. No one has ever accused me of being normal, so I will just share with you the magnificent homily from Bishop Barron on Mary. How biblical. These insights have caused… Continue Reading “the assumption of mary”
WHEN LOVE HURTS
As I wabble down the ever shorter path to my next portal in life, passing from life to death, I become more aware of how the Scriptures are pertinent to who I am now and how the words of Scripture feel as well say… Continue Reading “WHEN LOVE HURTS”
PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH OF CHRIST
St. Benedict teaches his monks that the monastery is a School of Charity or Love where we can learn how to love others as Christ loved us. It takes a lifetime to master the Art of Contemplative Practice. In one of my Lectio Divina… Continue Reading “PAINTING WITH THE BRUSH OF CHRIST”
LIFTING THE HEART AND MIND TO GOD USING ARCHITECTURE AND GREGORIAN CHANT
One characteristic of love is to want to share what is critical with those whom you value most. I wanted to share an aspect of prayer that is part of our Benedictine/Cistercian/Carthusian heritage. I came across this YouTube of a Cistercian monastery, one which… Continue Reading “LIFTING THE HEART AND MIND TO GOD USING ARCHITECTURE AND GREGORIAN CHANT”
the three principles of existence
I was never very good at academics in school, having the curse to have a slow mind that seems to dwell on how things fit together rather than their composition. I seem to gravitate toward the bigger picture. The problem is that the bigger… Continue Reading “the three principles of existence”
OBEDIENCE BY RELINQUISHING MY WILL TO A POWER OUTSIDE MYSELF: THE GREATEST OBSTACLE TO SPIRITUAL RESONANCE
My last couple of Lectio Divina’s has centered on how my Lectio (Philippians 2:5) influences resonance. I don’t take credit for this way out of thoughts as they apply to Holy Scripture. They just come, and I take them down for you to decipher.… Continue Reading “OBEDIENCE BY RELINQUISHING MY WILL TO A POWER OUTSIDE MYSELF: THE GREATEST OBSTACLE TO SPIRITUAL RESONANCE”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: HOW AN END-USER USES THE FORMULA FOR FOREVER TO GROW FROM SELF TO GOD
I must take this opportunity to remind you once again that these ideas are just the reflections of a broken-down, old temple of the Holy Spirit trying to make sense out of the physical universe, the mental universe, and also the spiritual universe. The… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: HOW AN END-USER USES THE FORMULA FOR FOREVER TO GROW FROM SELF TO GOD”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: THE FORMULA FOR FOREVER
When speaking of anything that has to do with God, humans are at a disadvantage. Our human nature (being), sentient though it is, is not even in the same ballpark as divine nature. The gulf is so great that human intelligence can only know… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: THE FORMULA FOR FOREVER”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: Quidquid recIpitur ad modum recipientis recipitur.
This last week, a friend of mine wrote me a Linkedin message commenting on my notion of Original Sin in my blog, “Whatever happened to Original Sin.” He said, ” The notion of Original is as much a fairy tale as the Tooth Fairy.”… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: Quidquid recIpitur ad modum recipientis recipitur.”
THE BEST COMMENTARY ON OUR SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE U.S.
I have found that the commentary of the late Rev. Billy Graham and also deceased Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on the subject of why our society is so off center to be the most accurate. Here is what Archbishop Sheen has to say about… Continue Reading “THE BEST COMMENTARY ON OUR SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE U.S.”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: MEASURING REALITY IN THREE UNIVERSES
If you choose to recognize my idea about one reality having three separate universes (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual), then each one has its own characteristics and measurements to describe (not define) reality. The Rule of Threes, as I call this way for me to… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: MEASURING REALITY IN THREE UNIVERSES”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: THE MATHEMATICS OF BEING
In my quest to find out how all reality fits together, I have had some help to give me additional assumptions that get me closer to solving the Mystery of Faith. Some of these ideas I have written down for you to try to… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: THE MATHEMATICS OF BEING”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: CAN YOU SOLVE IT?
Here is an opportunity to solve the Divine Equation. All humans, from Adam and Eve onward must solve the Divine Equation correctly to be admitted into the next phase of their human evolution (from non-life to life; from life to animality; from animality to… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: CAN YOU SOLVE IT?”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: OUR NEED FOR INTIMACY
Intimacy is one of those topics we don’t like to talk about unless it is in the context of darkened room with the person you trust the most in life, and even then, just with hushed tones and deflections of what you really mean.… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: OUR NEED FOR INTIMACY”
THE DIVINE EQUATION
My Lectio Divina meditations usually group up into a unified theme, eventually. Right now, what comes to my mind is about cosmic influences of the Christ Principle, certainly a macro approach to reality. Let me share what I mean by that. I have been… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION”
EIGHT THOUGHTS ABOUT GOD TAKING ON HUMAN NATURE
I admit that this Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) idea is as far out as the edge of time, but so is the Holy Spirit. Imagine how Jesus felt when, as the Son of God the Father, he knew all that is but could not… Continue Reading “EIGHT THOUGHTS ABOUT GOD TAKING ON HUMAN NATURE”
STARTING OVER
When thinking about my Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) subject, the concept of starting over came up. Usually, I just slough it off as if it were an unrelated piece of the puzzle and I didn’t know where it fit. This time, I thought of… Continue Reading “STARTING OVER”
THE EFFECTS OF ORIGINAL SIN ON MY CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE
One of those lessons I have had to learn over and over is struggling against my human nature (the world) when I attempt to attain mastery over my struggles to be an adopted son of the Father. I wish is was not a struggle… Continue Reading “THE EFFECTS OF ORIGINAL SIN ON MY CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE”
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